Monday, Monday

Today was the best Monday in quite some time! I'm definitely getting used to four day work weeks now that this is my third short work week in three weeks!! 

I went to Florence this weekend and it was so nice to have a relaxed weekend and to not have to rush back to Brentwood after church and visiting Grandaddy on Sunday. We had a nice family meal Saturday evening and I certainly enjoyed my Sunday nap. 

Today, I was up early (Emma woke up before dawn), but I didn't really mind since I had plans to shop at one of my favorite stores. My friend, Becky, and I drove to Memphis to shop at the Williams-Sonoma Outlet. I love Williams-Sonoma and I love outlet prices!  We looked around ooh-ing and ahh-ing at everything in sight for over two hours before selecting our purchases.  I bought several things, but I'm most excited about my new piece of Le Creuset. I've been eying this piece for a while and even convinced Becky that she would regret not buying one as well!  I guess I'm a bad influence!! :)

After laughing over our shopping cart full of purchases that we barely got off the sidewalk (Why there was no ramp I'll never know), we went next door to Pottery Barn. There were many pretty things, but nothing that I had to bring home. I didn't find a bargain rug for my dining room, so I may just have to pay the Pottery Barn delivery fee!

My friend, Molly, lives in Memphis and recommended several nearby restaurants. We decided on Swanky's Taco Shop which happened to be super close and super good. I'd definitely go there again. I'm so used to eating quickly and making it back to work in under an hour, so it was refreshing to have time to enjoy our food and talk. Not like we hadn't been doing that nonstop since we left Tuscumbia!!

We made one more quick stop to check out the sale items at Soma. We both love their pajamas and the 50% off sale made our purchases that much sweeter!

Before I knew it, it was time to head back to Alabama. Thankfully, we just hopped on Highway 72 and chatted the miles away. I really should have a sore throat from all the talking!!

It's so much fun to spend time with someone you share so many interests with and makes for such a fun day! Now, I can't wait to cook with my fun new finds!

New Recipe: Boston Cream Cupcakes

My friend, Melissa, celebrated her birthday this week.  We work together and I like to take something for my good friends' birthdays to share with our coworkers.  I asked Melissa what she wanted and her response was "cupcakes".  To be honest, this stressed me out a little since I can make tasty cupcakes, but, as my piping skills leave much to be desired, my cupcakes are never pretty.  I did some Pinterest searching and came up with these yummy cupcakes. (You may have to create a free account to view the recipe online.)

 

 

I think I've only had Boston Cream Pie once in my life--when my family went to Boston right before Christmas during my Senior year of High School.  However, I felt this was pretty safe since what's there not to like about cake, pastry cream and chocolate glaze?

 

This recipe is a little time consuming.  I made the pastry cream the night before.  My big problem was that I only had one muffin tin available.  Apparently my regular-sized muffin tins have grown legs and walked away.  I had to make one batch at a time and since I doubled the recipe, this took quite some time.

 

I hope you'll try these cupcakes.  They were a big hit in my office and I will definitely make them again.  When I have at least two muffin tins of the same size.

 

 

Makes 12 cupcakes

It’s important to bake these cupcakes in a greased and floured muffin tin rather than paper cupcake liners, so the chocolate glaze can run down the sides of the cupcakes.

PASTRY CREAM
1⅓ cups heavy cream
3 large egg yolks
⅓ cup (2⅓ ounces) sugar
Pinch salt
4 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

CUPCAKES
1¾ cups (8¾ ounces) all-purpose flour
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
3 large eggs, room temperature
¾ cup whole milk, room temperature
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

GLAZE
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
⅔ cup heavy cream
¼ cup light corn syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1. FOR THE PASTRY CREAM: Bring the cream to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl, then whisk in the cornstarch until pale yellow and thick, about 30 seconds.

2. Slowly whisk the hot cream into the egg mixture to temper, then return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thick and glossy, about 1½ minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the butter and vanilla. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl, press plastic wrap directly on the surface, and refrigerate until chilled and set, about 2 hours.

3. FOR THE CUPCAKES: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup muffin tin.

4. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat the butter into the flour mixture, one piece at a time, about 30 seconds. Continue to beat the mixture until it resembles moist crumbs, 1 to 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds. Beat in the milk and vanilla, then increase the mixer speed to medium and beat the batter until smooth, light, and fluffy, 1 to 3 minutes.

5. Using a greased ⅓-cup measure, portion the batter into each muffin cup (about three-quarters full; do not overfill). Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the tin halfway through baking. Let the cupcakes cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

6. FOR THE GLAZE: Microwave all of the ingredients together, whisking often, until melted and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Let the glaze cool, uncovered, until it is thickened but pourable, about 20 minutes.

7. Cut around the inside edge of the top of each cupcake, removing a cone-shaped piece from each cupcake, and fill with 2 tablespoons of pastry cream. Trim and replace the cupcake top and set each cupcake on a wire rack over a parchment-lined baking sheet (for easy cleanup). Pour the glaze over the cupcakes, letting it run down the sides. Refrigerate the cupcakes until the glaze has set, about 10 minutes, before serving.

New Recipe: Sugar Cookie Bars

I needed a quick and easy recipe for a sweet coworker's birthday last Wednesday and guess where I turned?  That's right, my good friend, Pinterest!  It's pretty obvious that I like to cook (and eat) since nearly half of my total pins are food-related.

I decided to make these sugar cookie bars from High Heels and Grills.  I love how I keep finding new food blogs to follow from pins I like on Pinterest!  There are tons of interesting recipes on this blog and I can't wait to try something else soon!

Ingredients:


Cookies:

2-1/2 cups bread flour (or all-purpose flour is fine)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 Tbsp. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup half and half
1 tsp. vanilla
Pinch of salt
Several drops of food coloring (optional)

Directions:

COOKIES: Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. I sifted my dry ingredients.  Just something I always do when baking.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. (The longer you beat it, the fluffier your cookies will be.)  


Add egg and combine well.

Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until completely blended.

Slowly add the flour mixture and stir until well combined.

Gently press the batter into the greased baking dish and spread out with hands. (If you butter your hands, this will help with the stickiness.)

Bake 17-20 minutes, or until edges become lightly golden.

Set aside to cool completely.

FROSTING: In a medium bowl, cream together butter, powdered sugar, and half and half until light and fluffy.

Stir in vanilla and salt, combine well.

Add food coloring until desired color.

Frost your cooled cookie bars evenly.

Cut into squares and serve.


These cookies are VERY good!  The cookie turns out to be almost like a shortbread cookie.  Since shortbread is one of my favorites, this was a definite plus!

I made one recipe for work last Wednesday and there were none left at the end of the day.  I liked them so much (and I had sour cream and half and half left), so I made another recipe on Saturday for my family.  I think it would be fun to use different colors and maybe add sprinkles for different holidays or occasions!

I'll definitely make these cookies again!

New Recipe - Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last week, my good friend Molly came to town for a work event.  Lucky for me, I got to have dinner with her after she got into town!  Her birthday was the week before, so I decided I needed to bake a little something to help welcome in 26!  I needed something quick, easy and easily transportable since she would be taking whatever I made back to Memphis with her.  After a quick trip to What Megan's Making, I decided I would make these Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I decided to double the recipe in order to have enough to take to work on Monday and to give to Molly on Monday night.  All in all, a double batch yielded about four dozen cookies when made as the recipe suggested (a scant quarter-cup of dough per cookie).

Mom came to take care of me Wednesday night (I had a clumsy moment involving my foot and my pizza stone.) and she ate my leftover cookies and baked the last bit of leftover dough.  She took the last few cookies home and "ever so kindly" allowed my Dad to try them just because he wasn't feeling well.  Usually, he complains that he doesn't get more than a taste of anything I make.  He has since said that he prefers these cookies to the famous cookies at the DoubleTree.  I think that's quite a compliment since they are my very favorite cookies!

Also, I didn't think that it would be necessary to make a ball of dough, split it in half and then reattach the halves, but after baking these cookies were so pretty!  I think it's worth the extra step to have pretty cookies!

The recipe is below for anyone who doesn't want to click through the links!


Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies from What Megan's Making


Ingredients:

2 cups plus 2 Tbsp (10 5/8 oz) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup packed (7 oz) light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz) granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
~1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (I prefer chocolate chunks!)
Directions:

Adjust the oven racks to the upper and lower middle positions and heat the oven to 325. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chunks to taste.

Roll a scant 1/4 cup of dough into a ball. Hold the dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough's uneven surface. This will give the cookies a bakery-like appearance. Place the the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.

Bake until the cookies are light golden brown and the outer edges start to harden, yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15-18 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets to retain their chewy texture.

Recipes and a New Cooking Blog

As I promised, here are the recipes for the super yummy pizza I made over Labor Day weekend.  I made four thin-crust pizzas with one dough recipe and it was more than enough to feed five adults when served with a side salad.  Keep in mind that both of these recipes are made using a food processor--quite possibly the best kitchen appliance ever!

For the pizza dough, I used this recipe from my earlier post.  This time, thanks to some good advice, I used bread flour only instead of bread flour and all-purpose flour like the first time I made this dough.  I think the crust was crisper and it was simpler to just use one type of flour when I was busy making this dough after 9 o'clock at night!

I also made homemade sauce from a blog I was recently told about called, What Megan's Making.  This is now one of my favorite cooking blogs and it's so much fun  to see what good food Megan's been making!  This sauce is so good and comes together in 30 seconds or less!  I don't think I'll ever buy store bought pizza sauce again!

I topped two pizzas with store bought shredded mozzarella and pepperoni (the Publix deli has the best pepperoni, by the way) while the other two had mozzarella, pepperoni, Italian sausage, red bell peppers and tons of olives (A treat for my Dad--I think he'd eat an olive pizza if I'd allow it!).

I also made pie crust again the week before Labor Day.  Practice makes perfect, right?  I made another chicken pot pie to thank my Dad for working on my car, a few homemade pop tarts that weren't the best (needed more filling) and then used the last crust to make a chocolate fudge pie to take to Mom over Labor Day weekend.  I think my impromptu pie crimping lesson before choir practice really paid off since these pies looked much better this time!  I hate to say something bad about a Martha Stewart recipe, but my "surrogate aunt's" recipe is so much easier to roll out and work with!  I really do think part of the difference was using shortening vs. butter (in the MS recipe).  I didn't ask for permission to share that recipe with anyone and, since it originally came from her MIL, I better not share it for now.

Daddy said he was disappointed Chef Katie didn't come home for the weekend, so I must be doing something right!  I was a little to busy cleaning the kitchen to get it all dirty again making dinner on Saturday.  I'll have to come up with something else to impress him with before my next trip to Florence!